This invention relates to forming particulate powderized materials for use, particularly in the pharmaceutical, nutritional and dietary supplement industries. The invention is particularly concerned with providing an end product, which is denser, more granular and generates less dust with better flow than previously known products for these purposes. This is particularly valuable in that the end product has a minimum of, and in most cases no, fillers or diluents to obtain the desired end product, which is therefore substantially pure.
Traditional densification and dry granulation is performed mainly by the pharmaceutical industry using a roll compactor. An example of this is system known as the Chilsonator™. The success of roll compaction is limited by the compactability or cohesiveness of the specific material. Frequently, the material requires preblending with compressible fillers and diluents in order to achieve compaction. Even with the most suitable fillers, roll compaction is frequently inefficient and slow because not all of the material gets compacted on the first pass through the rollers. Uncompacted material must be constantly recycled back through the machine until compacted. Compacted material forms a thin brittle ribbon which is then ground back into a powder of desired particle size. The resulting powder is normally higher in density or more compressible. The resulting powder however has fillers or diluents, which are generally undesirable.
An alternate way of accomplishing similar results is by using a tablet press to compress large tablets or slugs (“slugging”) then milling them back into a powder. This format also has the disadvantage that there are diluents and fillers, which are generally undesirable.
There is, accordingly, a need to provide for improved system of powderized products which can provide enhanced flow properties, and better compaction and compressibility. There is a need to provide such a system which can permit for the production of end products, for instance, in the form bulk powders, or powders for tableting or encapsulating in gelatin capsules or the like.